Knitted tapes and carpets formed thereby



Oct. 26, 1954 DlLDlUAN 2,692,842

KNITTED TAPES AND CARPETS FORMED THEREBY- Filed Dec. 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ava D|Aihan Oct. 26, 1954 A. T. DILDILIAN KNITTED TAPES AND CARPETS FORMED THEREBY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 14, 1950 it??? 21% fli'farneg 17711822101: 2rd T617097 Patented Oct. 26, 1954 KNITTED TAPES AND CARPETS' FORMED THEREBY Ara T. Dildilian, Suflield, 001111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company, of Delaware 1110., New York, N. Y., a corporation Application December 14, 1950, Serial No. 200,837

6 Glaims. 1

This invention relates to tapes for joining together two pieces of carpet at the seam formed by the abutting edges of said pieces; to the joints formed by said pieces by means of said tapes; and to carpets the abutting edges of which have been joined together by means of said tapes. The tape of this invention comprises longitudinal cotton warps, glass fiber wefts and linen weits interlaced together to form an open reticulated fabric, and weak cotton strands extending sub stantially diagonally across the openings formed by the warps and the wefts.

The principal objects are to provide a tape that will not cause a noticeable hump at the seam of the joined pieces of carpet, will be extremely strong across the line of said seam, that is weftwise, especially in the central longitudinal portion of the tape, but will be weak along a line parallel to said seam, that is warpwise, and will not allow the warps and wefts to slip at their intersections and become relatively misplaced.

Other objects and features will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which, Figs. 1 and 2 are diagrammatical plan views of tapes of this invention as applied to the backs of abutting pieces of carpet.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic View of a tape embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar View of a modified tape, and

Fig. 3 is a miorophotograph showing details of the tape.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a strand of glass fiber, forming a weft l, is interwoven with cotton warps 2, back and forth from one selvage of the tape to the other and a strand of linen, forming a weft 4, is interwoven with cotton warps 2 adjacent to the wefts I.

The interweaving, or tying-in, of the warps and wefts is accomplished by a Well-known warp knitting process, wherein each warp is fed on a single needle and stitched on an upright knitting machine, thus forming warp chains hereinafter generally referred to as warps which are designated by the heavy vertical lines 2 and 2a in Figs. 1 and 2. The glass and linen wefts are fed from back two-tube bars andare locked or tiedin by a very common warp knitting stitch.

In Fig. l, the linen wefts l extend from the central warp to part way to the selvage to form: first, on one side of the central warp 2a a long loop 6; secondly, on the other side of said central warp another long loop 6, equal in length to the first long loop 6; thirdly, on the first-mentioned side of said central warp a short loop I; and

fourthly, on the second-mentioned side of said central warp another short loop 7, equal in length to the first short loop I. This staggered pattern of the linen loops is repeated throughout the length of the tape, but is merely one of preference.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the linen wefts 4 may extend from the central warp 2c slightly beyond the third warp on both sides thereof so as to constitute an unstaggered reinforced portion in the middle of the tape.

As further alternatives, not shown, the linen wefts may extend to the salvage edges or be staggered in any other desirable arrangement across the central warp.

The warps 2 and 2a are composed of cotton strands, and during the manufacture of the tape, one or another of the strands 3 is stitched back and forth between adjacent needles, as shown in the drawing, substantially diagonally across each opening formed by the pattern of the warps and the wefts. The diagonal strands or stitchings 3 form a herring-bone pattern across the width of the tape.

As a result of the method employed in manufacturing the tape of this invention, one surface thereof differs slightly from the other in that the warp elements extend slightly above the plane of the weft shots on one side and create on that side a rough or ribbed surface. When the tape is positioned on and adhered to the carpet with its rougher side against the carpet back, the rough, ribbed surface of the tape enhances the firmness against sidewise slippage of the bond between tape and carpet. Termination of some of the wefts inwardly of the margins or selvages of the tape results in a tape which diminishes in thickness toward its edges and, thus, a less noticeable hump at the seam of the joined pieces of carpeting.

After the tape has been woven, the strands thereof are sized, preferably with a compound of polyvinyl butyral, although compounds of polystyrenes or polymethacrylates may be used, but in any case such compounds must be compatible with the medium, if any, such as nitrocellulose, which is employed on the oarpets for binding the tufts therein. In general, any appropriate sizing is sufficient to help hold the elements of the tape in their properly spaced relationship to each other, but the particular compounds described above are best adapted to form upon the glass fibers a surface to which adhesives, described hereinafter, may adhere.

The tapes may be applied to the seam formed by two abutting pieces of carpet 5 by means, of

an adhesive, such as a vinyl resin dissolved in a solvent or a latex-type adhesive, spread on the backs of the edge-portions of said pieces. The tape, preferably with the ribbed surface thereof against said backs, is superimposed and pressed upon the adhesively coated backs of the abutting edge-portions with the central warp 2a longitudinal with and preferably directly over the seam 8' of said abutting edges. To facilitate proper positioning of the tape, the central warp or a strand thereof may be dyed a color different from that of the rest of the tape.

Cotton or any other fibrous material may be substituted for the linen of. the wefts 4, and weak linen or any other fragile fibrous material may be employed instead of the cotton of warps 2. Linen, as used for the wefts 4, is preferable to glass, because linen can be repeatedly flexed under heavy trafllc and will not break, whereas glass may.

Iclaim:

1. A carpet comprising mutually abutting pieces of carpeting forming therebetween a seam, a tape extending warpwise along and weftwise across said seam, and approximately centered on said seam and an adhesive securing together said tape and the backings of said pieces, said tape comprising an open reticulated knitted fabric comprising parallel single-needle stitched warps, glass fiber wefts extending from selvage to selvage of said fabric, other fibrous wefts extending alongside said glass fiber wefts over an intermediate portion only of said fabric, and fibrous strands extending diagonally across the openings formed by the pattern of said wefts and warps; the surface of said tape adjacent said pieces of carpeting being rougher and more ribbed than the other, exposed, surface of the tape, whereby said tape diminishes in thickness toward its longitudinal edges to conceal the joint between said pieces of carpet and whereby a firm non-slipping bond between tape and carpet is provided.

2. A tape adapted to join together mutually abutting pieces of carpeting forming therebetween a seam and to extend warpwise along and weftwise across said seam comprising an open, reticulated knitted fabric having one of its surfaces rougher and more ribbed than the other, comprising parallel single-needle stitched warps, fine non-stretchable glass fiber wefts extending transversely from selvage to selvage of said fabric, other fibrous wefts extending alongside said glass fiber wefts transversely over an intermediate portion only of said fabric, whereby said tape diminishes in thickness toward its edges, and fine strands extending diagonally across the openings formed by the pattern of said wefts and warps.

3. .A carpet comprising mutually abutting pieces of carpeting forming therebetween a seam, a tape extending warpwise along and weftwise across said seam, and approximately centered on said seam and an adhesive securing together said tape and the backings of said pieces, said tape comprising an open reticulated warp knitted fabric comprising parallel single needle stitched warps, glass fiber wefts extending from selvage to selvage of said tape, linen wefts extending across an intermediate portion only of said fabric, and fibrous strands extending diagonally 4. across the openings formed by the pattern of said wefts and warps, the surface of said tape adjacent said pieces of carpeting being rougher and more ribber than the other, exposed, surface of the tape, whereby said tape diminishes in thickness toward its longitudinal edges to conceal the joint between said pieces of carpet and whereby a firm non-slipping bond between tape and carpet is provided.

4. A tape adapted to join together mutually abutting pieces of carpeting forming therebetween a seam and to extend warpwise along and weftwise across said seam comprising an open, reticulated knitted fabric having one of its-surfaces rou'gher and mor ribbed than the other, comprising parallel fibrous warps, fine nonstretchable glass fiber wefts extending from selvage to selvage of said fabric, fine linen Wefts extending transversely across an intermediate portion only of said fabric, alternate pairs of said linen wefts extending closer than intermediate pairs to one longitudinal edge of said tape,'and. fine cotton strands extending. diagonally across. openings formed by the pattern of said wefts andwarps.

5. A tape adapted to join together mutually abutting pieces. of carpeting forming therebetween. a seam, and to extend warpwise along and. weftwise. across. said seam, comprising an open. reticulated warp knitted fabric having one of its surfaces rougher and. more ribbed than the other, comprising parallel single-needle stitched warps, a glass fiber weft strand extending weftwise of said fabric in certain courses of warp knitting, a fibrous weft strand extending. weftwise of said fabric in said certain courses of warp knitting, and additional strands extending diagonally across the openings formed by said warps and weft strands.

6. A tape adapted to join together mutually abutting pieces of carpeting forming therebe tween a seam and to extend warpwise along and weftwise across said seam, comprising parallel single-needle stitched warps, weft strands tied into said warps to form an open fabric with rectangular openings, said weft strands including a glass fiber weft strand extending from one selvage to the other of said fabric in certain courses of warp knitting, and a linen weft strand extending across an intermediate portion only of said fabric in said certain courses of warp knitting, and additional strands extending diagonally across the openings formed by said warps and weft strands, one surface of said tape being rougher and more ribbed than the other surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 10,777 Stowe Nov. 2, 1886 1,811,081 Hartwell June 23, 1931 2,069,310 Higgins Feb. 2, 1937 2,228,944 Brandt Jan. 14, 1941 2,321,920 Keuffel et a1. June 15, 1943 2,523,865 Dildilian Sept. 26, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 469,702 Germany Dec. 18, 192 8 

1. A CARPET COMPRISING MUTUALLY ABUTTING PIECES OF CARPETING FORMING THEREBETWEEN A SEAM, A TAPE EXTENDING WARPWISE ALONG AND WEFTWISE ACROSS SAID SEAM, AND APPROXIMATELY CENTERED ON SAID SEAM AND AN ADHESIVE SECURING TOGETHER SAID TAPE AND THE BACKINGS OF SAID PIECES, SAID TAPE COMPRISING AN OPEN RETICULATED KNITTED FABRIC COMPRISING PARALLEL SINGLE-NEEDLE STITCHED WARPS, GLASS FIBER WEFTS EXTENDING FROM SELVAGE TO SELVAGE OF SAID FABRIC, OTHER FIBROUS WEFTS EXTENDING ALONGSIDE SAID GLASS FIBER WEFTS OVER AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION ONLY OF SAID FABRIC, AND FIBROUS STRANDS EXTENDING DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE OPENINGS FORMED BY THE PATTERN OF SAID WEFTS AND WARPS, THE SURFACE OF SAID TAPE ADJACENT SAID PIECES OF CARPETING BEING ROUGHER AND MORE RIBBED THAN THE OTHER, EXPOSED, SURFACE OF THE TAPE, WHEREBY SAID TAPE DIMINISHES IN THICKNESS TOWARD ITS LONGITUDINAL EDGES TO CONCEAL THE JOINT BETWEEN SAID PIECES OF CARPET AND WHEREBY A FIRM NON-SLIPPING BOND BETWEEN TAPE AND CARPET IS PROVIDED. 